Montenegro Population and Language

According to the census conducted in 2011, almost half of the residents are Montenegrins. There are several minorities in the country, of which the Serbs are the largest group, followed by Bosnians, Albanians and Roma with others. In mid-2016, the population was estimated to be about 622,000.

Montenegro Population Forecast

In connection with the wars in ex-Yugoslavia in the 1990s, many residents set out to escape military service, financial difficulties and an uncertain future. At the same time, Montenegro received a large number of refugees – most of which amounted to 160,000 in 1999, a huge number in small Montenegro. Most of these have since returned home or moved to a third country.

  • COUNTRYAAH.COM: Key populations estimated size and data of Montenegro, including population density of how many people per square mile. Also included are facts for population and language.

Remaining in Montenegro in 2015, there were a few thousand refugees, most of them Roma from Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Roma often lack identity documents and have difficulty obtaining citizenship or residence permits. In addition, most of them lack work and decent housing, and have poor access to healthcare, schools and other community services.

According to the 2007 Constitution, the official language of Montenegro is Montenegrin, a South Slavic language. Both the Cyrillic alphabet, once introduced by the Orthodox Church, and Latin script are used and considered equivalent. It was in connection with the Montenegrin independence struggle in the 21st century, who increasingly vigorously claimed that Montenegrin was a separate, separate Serbian language. The language of Montenegro is in the pronunciation many times closer to Croatian than Serbian as it is spoken in Serbia. Basically, however, everything is the same language, with local differences (what in Yugoslavian times were called Serbo-Croatian). Albanian, which is written in Latin, is the most important minority language.

Montenegro Population and Language

Montenegrin pronunciation guide

C = ts; Ć = tj; Č = tsch; Dž = about dzj; Đ đ = dj; G and K = always hard pronunciation as in good cake; Š = sch; Z = toning z; Ž = toning zj

FACTS – POPULATION AND LANGUAGE

Population

Montenegrins 45%, Serbs 29%, Bosnians 9%, Albanians 5%, the rest 12% (Census 2011)

Number of residents

622 471 (2017)

Number of residents per square kilometer

46 (2017)

Percentage of residents in the cities

66.5 percent (2017)

Nativity / birth

11.4 per 1000 residents (2016)

Mortality / mortality

9.9 per 1000 residents (2016)

POPULATION GROWTH

0.0 percent (2017)

fertility rate

1.7 number of births per woman (2016)

Percentage of women

50.7 percent (2017)

Life expectancy

77 years (2016)

Life expectancy for women

79 years (2016)

Life expectancy for men

75 years (2016)

Language

Montenegrin is officially language 1

  1. Also Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian and Romani are spoken

2008

December

The EU application is submitted

Montenegro formally applies for membership in the EU.

November

Kosovo is recognized

Together with Macedonia, Montenegro recognizes Kosovo’s independence, which annoys Serbia and for a period of time relations between Serbia and Montenegro are on a low.

March

The president is re-elected

Filip Vujanović, from the DPS just like the prime minister, is re-elected president with just over half the votes.

February

New Prime Minister takes office

Milo Đukanović returns to the Prime Minister’s post since Željko Šturanović resigned for health reasons.